"Pork chops and applesauce"

That's an old quote from the Brady Bunch. We had the pork chops for dinner today, but not the applesauce. Whenever we have pork chops though, I think of this quote. So the whole point though is that dinner was delicious today. I made the pork chops in the crock pot all day with barbecue sauce so that they were not dry. We also had mashed potatoes and salad. I also steamed some cauliflower.

Funny thing about cauliflower... we told our kids for a while that they weren't allowed to eat cauliflower until they were 18. Then they all really wanted it, so when we would let them have some, it was a special treat. Now they all love it!! We can steam an entire head of it for dinner and it will all be gone. Reverse psychology, gotta love it!!!


Two days ago, my hubby gave me a special treat too. He used a gift card for Giant Eagle that he had earned from work (since we are short on cash these days) to buy me a card and some ice cream drumsticks (who needs flowers when ice cream is the alternative!). The card was so special and talks about how blessed he was from the day he met me. I love when my hubby does stuff like this. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks babe, you're the best!!!!


Lastly, my boys are taking swimming lessons at the pool and the cutest thing happened yesterday. My oldest son's instructor was out for the day, so they had a substitute, Matt. Matt decided to take his team in the deep end. Now mind you, my son does NOT know how to swim, so even I was thinking "what is he doing?" The point was that kids are so afraid of the deep end, but floating in shallow water is the same as floating in deep water. The few things that his group does know how to do, he had them do in the deep end, just to show them that they don't need to be afraid. So he was trying to get each of the 4 kids to do things like front float, back float, put their head under water, etc when one of the little boys said "There's no way you're gonna get me to do that without a life jacket". It was so funny at the moment. My husband and I were cracking up. Kids are so cute!

Eat more chikin

I don't know about you, but as parents, we try to plan events and family times that are fun and will be memorable for our kids. Well yesterday was one of those days. Chick-Fil-A has a Dress like a cow day every year where they give away free food for dressing like a cow. I was talking with our au pair about it and she said WE SHOULD DO IT! I called my husband at work to see if he was game and he said sure. So we spent about an hour cutting out spots, finding white or beige clothes, making tails, blowing up latex gloves for utters, etc. Once we got into it we had a blast.





When my husband got home, he jumped in the fun too. The more dressed up like a cow you were the more free food you got. So if you were just partially dressed up like a cow you got a free entree. Completely dressed up, you got a free combo meal. We went all out and headed to Chick-Fil-A, hoping we were dressed enough for the free meal.





And we got it! All of us got free meals. About $40 of free food for an hour of preparation and the willingness to make complete fools of ourselves in public. Nothing like it!!!





Here's a memory that will last!

Lightning Fast Fireworks

Today we went to our local fireworks which are set off at the local high school. As we were arriving we heard an announcement that due to cloud cover and an approaching storm they were going to set off the display a half hour early at 9:30 PM. We did our normal visiting activities and Grandma had brought glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets for all the kids. Then they announced 5 minutes to begin.

We all got settled and the National Anthem played. We are so blessed to be citizens of this country. Then the fireworks started. They seemed to be setting them off pretty fast. Then we noticed why....

Off to our left (north side) we noticed these dark dark clouds moving in. And man, were they coming quickly. We kept watching the fireworks, which were definitely in fast forward speed compared to normal, but also kept an eye on the approaching storm. Then the wind started to pick up. My husband said, we better be prepared to make a run for it. The storm got closer and closer. Papers and stuff started flying around. This was a let's not wait to see what's in it storm. We knew once it started raining it was going to downpour! People started packing up their stuff and we decided to as well. We grabbed our stuff and started heading towards the car, still trying to enjoy the even quickening fireworks as we walked. We got to the edge of the field at the high school and still no rain. I decided to hang out there and watch the fireworks a little more calmly... still standing of course.

The fireworks ended without rain and we headed to the car. What an exciting evening! That was a new twist on the city fireworks. So now I sit here at home about 10:15 and it is pouring rain. Sounds like it was a smart idea to start them early. My son decided he likes them set off faster. He says "it looks cooler"!